


When These Bones Decay

by authors_bane



Category: Avengers, Black Panther - Fandom, Marvel
Genre: A little angst, Dora Milaje - Freeform, F/M, I don't know erik is just really soft, Light Smut, Mostly Fluff, Some Plot, Superheroes, marvel AU, so no one dies because screw that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-25 00:22:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13822560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authors_bane/pseuds/authors_bane
Summary: Like all Wakandan girls her age, Iniko has wanted nothing more than to be a part of the Dora Milaje. After a man called Killmonger tries to Usurp the throne from T'challa, Iniko finds herself in the toughest challenge the Dora had thrown her way. Between Erik Killmonger's silver tongue and habit for making people angry, Iniko finds it very difficult to ignore him. No matter how many times Okoye has to tell her not to respond to him when he starts talking about her Wakandan mother and long-lost white father, she finds it impossible not to fight back.Erik did always like a girl who knew how to throw a punch.





	When These Bones Decay

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all, I don't even know what I'm doing. Let's see how it goes.

Iniko couldn't believe it. Of all the jobs Okoye could have given her, she chose to give her the one that involved confronting the man that killed her friend. But a Dora does not argue with her General. She stays silent, even if the orders she's been given are stupid.  
Iniko tried not to scowl as she walked down the ramp towards the dungeon. The dungeon was the in the deepest part of the mountain, where the vibranium was too thick to dig out. There weren't many cells in the dungeon, and only a few were filled. As a training Dora, Iniko was giving the duty of making sure the criminals had clothes, blankets, food, water, the whole nine yards. Iniko was fine with this until Killmonger was added to the list of criminals she needed to take care of. W'kabi was on the list as well, but he was much more docile. She had known W'kabi since she was a kid, just as she had known Okoye, but she had never pegged him for the kind to commit treason. The other criminals were just as docile, some even almost kind. But Killmonger was a monster. Even from inside a cage, Killmonger managed to piss off everyone around him.  
Iniko tended to the other inmates before braving a scene with Killmonger. All the cells were separated so that none of the inmates could see the others, nor could they hear all the terrible things Killmonger said to her. As she dealt with the other inmates, she tried to keep a smile on her face. Okoye would tell her off for it later, but if her smile was the only warmth that these guys were going to get sitting in these cold walls all day long, then she would risk her General's wrath. When she got to Killmonger's cell, she found it very difficult to keep the scowl out of her eyes. She stood just to the side of his cell window, trying to calm her breath and the rate of her heart. When she summoned all of her Dora training in keeping her scowl soft and her face placid, she stepped in front of the window with the supplies Shuri had sent down for him.  
She regretted coming down here the moment she saw his face. He was leaning against the glass, a smirk on his face. She resisted every urge to roll her eyes right there. She forced herself to smile at him briefly.  
"Today, I've got you some new blankets, as you said that yours were 'too rich and threaded with the blood of your people'," Iniko said, pulling the plain, wool blankets from the box.  
"What, I only get half a smile? Last time, you smiled for a whole three minutes," he told her, his voice morphed by the glass.  
"I have a few books, per your request, as well as today's food and water," Iniko finished as if she hadn't heard a single thing he said.  
"C'mon, Sweetheart."  
Iniko snapped her head up, meeting his eyes for the first time. She wanted to tell him to never call her 'Sweetheart', but her training held her back. She breathed deeply again to summon her sanity. She walked up to the glass.  
"No funny business, Killmonger. I'm coming in and if you even think about touching me-"  
"Trust me," he said, pushing away from the glass and standing in the middle of the room. "I have no desire to touch you."  
Somehow, that didn't make her feel any better.  
She approached the glass, balancing the box of things on her hip as she reached out to touch the glass. A turquoise aura flashed on the glass where her hand touched, scanning her palm and fingers. A rather irritating beeping sound came from above as the scanning finished. The blue underneath her hand went away and an invisible door popped out of the glass. Iniko entered the cell, trying to keep her face emotionless, even as her pulse raced out of control. Memories of the day King T'Challa came back from the dead to take his throne back flashed through her mind. She remembered being inside, watching the War Dogs charge her king. She remembered running out to join Okoye and the Dora as some of them confronted the usurper. She remembered him cutting the neck of her friend, Aneka. She remembered his smile as Aneka's body hit the floor...  
Iniko shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She set the box down on one of the chairs as the door shut behind her. Iniko could feel his eyes on the back of her head while she emptied the bin. She tried not to look at him as she crossed to his bed to grab the nice, soft blankets and replace them with the scratchy, worn blankets.  
"Look at you, walking with your head down and doing my bidding," Killmonger said, leaning against the glass, arms crossed. "You're more of a slave than a bodyguard in training."  
Iniko let her anger take over for just long enough for her to throw the blankets into the bin. Clinging to the edge of the bin, she tried to regain control. She was terribly aware of his eyes on her as she moved. She took the books and put them on his slowly growing bookshelf.  
"You're not even going to talk to me?" He asked. "Yesterday, you wouldn't even look me in the eyes."  
Iniko lifted her eyes from the ground, taking what he said as a challenge. Her pulse went surprisingly still as she met his gaze, eyes narrowed. He had that stupid grin on his stupid face and it made her blood boil. There was a difference between the smile he had when he killed Aneka and the one he had now. She couldn't put her finger on it then, but it was enough to make her tear her gaze away and return to the bin.  
"Water," she said, tossing three bottles of water at him. She hated that he caught all three. "Food."  
She tossed the food onto his newly scratchy bed and picked up the bin.  
"Have fun with your nasty food, scratchy blankets, and your new books," she said with the fakest smile she could muster. "If those blankets don't keep you warm at night, don't come complaining to me cause I'm not carrying those heavy ass blankets back upstairs."  
She put her hand on the glass and opened the door, walking outside.  
"If they don't keep me warm, maybe you could crawl into my bed and keep me warm instead," he called after her. She didn't respond, but she felt her heart fell into her stomach and bile rose into her throat. She walked out of the dungeon, her heart pounding in her ears. 

"What happened today?" Ayo asked. Iniko sighed, smoothing out the wrinkles on the blanket on her bed. The feeling of the smooth blanket under her fingers reminded her of the way Killmonger's blankets felt in her hands and she felt his eyes on her again. She tried to smile at her Commanding Officer.  
"Nothing, Ayo. They were all quiet," she lied easily. "W'kabi asked about the General again, but I told him what she told me to tell him."  
Ayo sighed.  
"He still loves her, doesn't he?"  
"Of course he does. How could you not love someone like Okoye?" Ayo's gaze hardened. "Sorry, I meant, _the General ___

."  
Ayo rolled her eyes, trying and failing to hide a smile.   
"Just because your mother and the General have been friends since as long as _I _can remember, doesn't mean you get any privileges over the other girls," Ayo said.  
"No, of course not, I get to do all the stuff that none of the other girls want to do." Iniko didn't mean to sound as irritated as she had meant to, but Ayo obviously heard and registered it.   
"Now, Iniko, you know why the General put you on this job. We know you have the strength, strategy, and ambition to be part of the Dora, but where you lack is being able to control your emotions like a Dora needs to," Ayo explained, sitting beside Iniko on her bed. "A king cannot trust his guards if they might suddenly break down into tears-"  
"I would never do that."   
"Yes, but you've shown us that you cannot control your anger. Nor can you control your sympathy."   
"I don't see how that's a bad thing."   
"Sympathy, love, compassion, those can be your downfall one day. What would have happened if I had frozen when Aneka was killed? How many more of our sisters would have died if I had?" Ayo had a point. Ayo and Aneka were close, closer than any of the other Dora were with their sisters. Many times, Iniko had wondered if there was something more to Ayo and Aneka's relationship than just being best friends. It was true that Ayo didn't freeze when Aneka was killed, but Iniko did remember tears rolling down her eyes.   
"Compassion and love are not a weakness, Ayo," Iniko said, "You of all people should know that."   
Ayo breathed heavily, looking at the blanket, playing with the tassels.   
"That monster in those dungeons," she said finally, "I don't like you being around him. I do not think you being near him is good for you, but we must obey the General's orders."   
"I know," Iniko replied quietly. Ayo reached out and touched Iniko's cheek.   
"As your Commanding Officer, I am entitled to your safety as well as your training. If you ever feel unsafe-"  
"I can do it, Ayo," Iniko said, snapping her head up. The thought of the taunts Killmonger would make if he knew she had switched positions because of him made her sick. "I swear to you, I can."   
Ayo smiled and took Iniko's hand in hers.   
"I know you can, but if you ever feel unsafe, I will make sure the General gets you a new position."   
"Thank you, Ayo," Iniko said with a small smile.   
"Off to bed, now. You have a long day tomorrow."   
Iniko nodded. She crossed her arms over her chest in an 'X' and broke it when Ayo did the same.   
"Wakanda Forever," they both said together. Ayo clapped her hands and the lights turned off.   
"Goodnight, little _paka _," Ayo whispered as Iniko crawled into bed.  
"Goodnight, Ayo." ____

____"How is your training going?" Iniko's mother, Deka, asked, braiding Iniko's long, dark hair.  
"Good, Mother," Iniko replied, her muscles spasming beneath her Dora's training armor. She was thinking of her job later today. She wasn't excited to go to the dungeons today. She didn't want to see Killmonger's smile or his face or his eyes or his stupid scratchy blankets.   
"Are you thinking about that stupid boy again," Deka asked with a sigh.   
"He's not a boy, Mother," Iniko told her mother, turning towards Deka. "He's a murderer."   
"Pah. He's a boy. He thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't know anything. Don't mind a single thing he says." Deka ran her fingers through the rest of her daughter's hair. "I am going to miss your hair when they cut it."   
Iniko smiled.   
"Yes, me too, but it will feel good knowing I'm apart of the Dora finally," Iniko said, her voice dreamy and slightly far off.   
"It'll happen one day, my daughter, and I will be the proudest mother in all of Wakanda."   
Iniko smiled at the pride that already laced Deka's voice. She wanted to be a Dora, not only because it was the best thing a girl could be in Wakanda aside from Queen (but everyone knew that that spot was held for Nakia), but also because it would make her mother proud.   
"Mother?" Iniko asked, fiddling with her fingers.   
"Yes, my love?"   
"Could you tell me about Baba?"   
Deka tugged a little too hard on Iniko's hair.   
"He was a good man, Iniko, don't ever doubt that. When I was in America, I met him. He was an FBI agent and he was very set on saving people's lives and I loved him for it. We spent one night together before King T'Chaka called me back home. I wished it could have been more. It wasn't until I got back home that I realized I was with child," Deka told while she finished braiding Iniko's hair. Iniko smiled, trying to imagine what her father was like. Every time she asked her mother to tell her about him, she never got anything more than that, but it was enough. She would one day ask Shuri to find him, but not yet, not until her mother was ready. Iniko knew that the King would not let Deka be a spy any longer because she was pregnant, she knew everything that her mother had sacrificed to raise her. She wanted to give back to her mother and if finding her father was what it took, then by Bast she would do it. _ _ _ _

____"Back again?" Iniko swallowed her anger and forced herself to smile.  
 _Control your emotions. _  
She didn't talk to him, but didn't avoid his eyes. The feeling in her stomach made her want to hurl, but she covered it up the best she could. Upon entering his room, she set the bin down and opened it. She didn't throw the water like she did the night before, nor the food. She lay it politely next to the bin on the bench. She took out the books and lay them on the others.  
"Those books you brought yesterday were terrible," Killmonger said to her, his voice tight, like he was upset she wasn't talking.   
"Maybe these would be better," was all she told him. The box was empty so she put the lid on it, opened the door, and stepped outside. The door closed with a hiss. She stood with the box on her hip and smiled at Killmonger, who glared at her.   
"You're no fun," he mused. She tilted her head to the side.   
"Good." She turned away. "Sleep tight."   
She couldn't help but smile as she left the dungeon that day.___ _ _ _


End file.
